We booked the Best Western Westminster Inn because our boys had places at Camp Lakers — which is not, despite the name, in Los Angeles. In our year it was not even where we were first told it would be: the venue moved before the camp started and the boys ended up at The MAP Sports Facility in Garden Grove, the next town along from the hotel.
It is a short ride from either Camp Lakers venue — Garden Grove, where our boys actually played, is the neighbouring town, and the AIM Sportsplex in Seal Beach, used in 2026, is 5.6 miles away. It is not the closest hotel to the camp. It is the cheapest of the sensible options: we paid €114.76 a night, breakfast for four included, against roughly $157 for the Hampton Inn less than a mile from the door.
What you get for that: a free full breakfast every morning, free parking, free Wi-Fi, an outdoor pool and hot tub, a guest laundry, and a fridge and microwave in the room. It is a 2.5-star property and it does not pretend otherwise.
Book it if you want the money in the trip rather than the room, you are happy to take an Uber to the camp, and you want a pool to come back to at the end of a long day. Do not book it if you want to walk your child to the sportsplex, or you are travelling with a dog — pets are not accepted.
Would we book it again for a camp week? Yes, totally.
Why we were in Westminster at all
Nobody comes to Westminster, California on holiday.
We were there because Camp Lakers — the Los Angeles Lakers’ own youth basketball camp — had places for our two boys.
Two things about that are worth knowing before you book a hotel around this camp. The venue moves: we were given one location, it changed before the camp started, and our boys played at The MAP Sports Facility, 12552 Western Ave, Garden Grove. The 2026 edition was at the AIM Sportsplex in Seal Beach. And the hours move too: in 2024 the camp ran 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 3pm on the Friday, where the current version is three mornings.
So the shape of our week was set by getting two children across town by nine and collecting them at five.
That is the only reason to read this review, and it is the reason I am writing it. If you are booking a hotel because your child is at Camp Lakers, or at any of the youth tournaments this part of Orange County runs, the questions you have are completely different from the ones a normal hotel review answers. You do not care about the lobby. You care whether breakfast is open early enough, whether there is somewhere to wash kit, and how long the morning drive takes.
Los Angeles Lakers Summer Camp
How far the hotel is from the camp
It depends which venue, and that is the point.
| Venue | Where the hotel sits | |
|---|---|---|
| July 2024 — where our boys actually played | The MAP Sports Facility, 12552 Western Ave, Garden Grove | The next town along. A short ride. |
| 2026 edition | AIM Sportsplex, 1718 Apollo Ct, Seal Beach | 5.6 miles |
For anyone booking against the current Seal Beach venue, here are the three options a camp family realistically chooses between:
| Hotel | Distance from the sportsplex | Rates from |
|---|---|---|
| Hampton Inn & Suites Seal Beach | 0.74 miles | ~$157 |
| Ayres Hotel Seal Beach – Cypress | 2.61 miles | ~$181 |
| Best Western Westminster Inn | 5.6 miles | €114.76 (what we paid, breakfast included) |
So the trade is real and it is worth stating plainly: we paid meaningfully less a night and travelled a little further each morning.
And we did not do it in a hire car. We took Uber and Lyft to the sportsplex every morning. The ground transport for the entire fifteen-night trip — both weeks, including the daily camp run — came to €600. Every guide to Los Angeles will tell you a car is compulsory. It is not, and it is certainly not compulsory for this camp.
The drive to and from the facility took us around 10-15 minutes each time, we waited for uber and lyft sometimes longer, and we had to take always this into account.
Rates move constantly. The figures above are indicative and were checked in August 2026 — check current prices before you budget.
The Room
We had a room with 2 queen beds, perfect for our family of 4. The bed was especially comfortable, with soft linens and plenty of pillows that ensured a restful night’s sleep.
One of the things that wwas really important for us were the amenities, such as the mini-fridge and coffee maker, which added a layer of convenience to our stay. The room also featured a conditioner, large flat-screen TV and reliable Wi-Fi, perfect for unwinding after a day of sightseeing or the Lakers camp.
The bathroom was spotless and well-stocked with toiletries, and we found the water pressure in the shower to be excellent—a small detail that can make a big difference.
Housekeeping and Laundry
One of the standout aspects of our stay was the exceptional housekeeping service. The housekeeping staff maintained our room at a very high level, ensuring that everything was fresh, clean, and perfectly organized each day. It truly enhanced our comfort and made our stay even more pleasant.
Additionally, the hotel’s laundry facilities were a lifesaver during our stay. With our kids participating in the Lakers camp, we needed to keep their sports gear clean and ready for each day. The on-site laundry room was well-equipped and easy to use, allowing us to handle all of our laundry needs without any hassle.
Breakfast before a 9am start
Breakfast is free, full, and served daily — not a pastry and a coffee machine. In your own words from the first version of this review:
Eggs, sausages, waffles and fruit, every morning, at no extra cost, for four people. On a week where two children have to be on a basketball court at nine, that is not a perk. It is the thing that makes the mornings work — nobody is hunting for somewhere open at 7.30, and nobody is paying $60 a day to feed a family before a session.
The breakfast opened at 7am, and we were within the first one to have it. As our kids to have enough time to prepare before the camp.
The pool, the hot tub and the putting green
There is an outdoor pool and an outdoor hot tub, and a courtyard with a putting green and a barbecue area. There is no fitness centre.
A child who has been on a court from nine until five wants water. That is the entire argument for this hotel over a cheaper motel, and it is the reason the afternoons worked as well as they did.
We didn’t use barbecue, but we enjoyed the pools a lot. Basically our day finished by the pool and it was one of the activities that our kids loved the most. Some days we were alone by the pool, and very few days were other people, but still it wasn’t so crowded. We always had enough space by the pool.
Laundry, and why it mattered
There is a guest laundry on site.
Five days of basketball kit. Two boys, four hours a day, in July, in southern California. You can do the arithmetic on what the bags smelled like by Wednesday.
The wash costed us 1.25 dollars per use back in July 2024. We needed coins to use it. You can exchange paper money to coins at the reception. There was only one washing machine and one drying mashine, but when we used those, we were the only users, we didn’t have to wait. As we didn’t have the detergent, we bought it there at the vending machine.
What the week cost
We stayed eight nights, 12 to 20 July 2024, and paid €918.08 — €114.76 a night, with a full breakfast for four included every morning.
Your original review said the rates were “reasonable”. That word does nothing. This paragraph does the work instead, and it is the single most valuable thing on the page.
⚠️ One disclosure that has to be in the article. That was a travel-agent rate, booked through my work. A reader will not necessarily find €114.76 publicly — the hotel was listing from around $110 a night when I last checked in August 2026.
For comparison, and dated August 2026: the Hampton Inn under a mile from the sportsplex was listing from around $157, and the Ayres in Cypress from around $181.
And the number worth putting next to it: Camp Lakers cost us $750 per child in 2024 — for a full five-day week, 9am to 5pm. For two children that is $1,500 before a single night, a flight or an Uber. Eight nights of hotel with breakfast cost less than one child’s place at the camp — which is the real reason to choose a hotel like this one, and it is more persuasive than saying the room was nice.
Eating around the hotel
Westminster and the towns around it are, unexpectedly, one of the better places in California to eat cheaply with children.
In-N-Out, Westminster. The obvious one, five minutes away, and worth doing once because your children will ask. In-N-Out review.
The Whole Foods hot bar in Long Beach — the 2nd & PCH store, about ten minutes from the hotel. You fill a container, you pay by weight, and everybody picks their own food. No ordering, no waiting, no tipping. Hot bars in Los Angeles run at the upper end of the roughly $8.99–$13.99 per pound range. With a fridge and a microwave back in the room, it doubles as the next day’s lunch. Whole Foods article.
Little Saigon. This is the one to actually pay attention to. Westminster is the centre of the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam — and it is ten minutes from this hotel. Westminster guide
What we did while the boys were at camp
In 2024 the camp ran 9am to 5pm from Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 3pm on the Friday. You are welcome at the presentation that opens each morning and back for the last half hour. In between we had four whole days and one long morning.
That is either a gift or a problem, and it depends entirely on whether you planned for it. On the current three-morning format you get about three hours instead, which changes what is reachable — so both are marked below.
| From the hotel | 3-hour morning | Full day | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seal Beach — pier, beach, coffee | Minutes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Little Saigon / the Whole Foods hot bar | ~10 minutes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Newport Beach and Balboa Island | ~25 minutes | Tight | ✅ |
| Laguna Beach | ~40 minutes | ❌ | ✅ — this is what we did |
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Frequently asked questions about staying at the Best Western Westminster Inn
Where should you stay for Camp Lakers?
Check the venue first, because it moves. In 2024 our boys played at The MAP Sports Facility in Garden Grove after the location changed before the camp started; the 2026 edition was at the AIM Sportsplex in Seal Beach. We stayed at the Best Western Westminster Inn, which is a short ride from both, because it was considerably cheaper than the hotels closer in and had free parking, free breakfast and a pool.
How far is the Best Western Westminster Inn from the Camp Lakers venue?
It depends which venue. The MAP Sports Facility in Garden Grove, where our boys played in July 2024, is in the neighbouring town and a short ride away. The AIM Sportsplex in Seal Beach, used in 2026, is 5.6 miles from the hotel. Either way you do not need a hire car: we did the whole trip on Uber, Lyft and public transport for 600 euros across fifteen nights.
Does the Best Western Westminster Inn include breakfast?
Yes. A free full breakfast is served daily. For a camp week that matters more than it sounds, because it means the children eat properly before a nine o’clock start without you paying for it or hunting for somewhere open.
Does the Best Western Westminster Inn have a pool?
Yes, an outdoor pool and an outdoor hot tub, plus a courtyard with a putting green and a barbecue area. There is no fitness centre.
Is parking free at the Best Western Westminster Inn?
Yes, parking is free, and so is Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and in the rooms. In this part of Orange County, where most beach parking is metered, free hotel parking is worth having.
Are pets allowed at the Best Western Westminster Inn?
No. Pets are not accepted.
What are the check-in and check-out times?
Check-in is from 3pm and check-out is at 11am.
Is there more than one Best Western in Westminster, California?
Yes, and it is easy to book the wrong one. The hotel in this review is the Best Western Westminster Inn. There is also a Best Western Palm Garden Inn on Beach Boulevard in the same town, which is a different property.
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